After a string of features that saw Hov appearing on tracks with Future, Fat Joe, Drake, and Pusha T, Jay Z has released his first solo music since 2013’s Magna Carta Holy Grail.
The new song, titled “Spiritual“, is currently only available through Jay’s streaming app Tidal. Produced by Detail, the track comes in the wake of the recent police shootings of unarmed black men Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, who are just 2 of the 114 black men killed by police this year.
The track was apparently made a while ago, and TDE president Punch reportedly encouraged Jay to release it after the death of Michael Brown. The timelessness of this track is a depressing statement on the current state of affairs in the United States, where a song suited for a police killing that occurred two years ago is just as relevant today.
The song finds Hova at his most eloquent, fearful of the current state of affairs but confident in his own blackness. It’s in unfortunate circumstances that we are rewarded with a new track from one of rap’s greatest veterans, but it’s refreshing to see hip hop return to its roots and exist as a comment on the persecution and hatred that black people receive every day.
Read Jay Z’s accompanying statement below, and stream the track on Tidal.
Audio Plug 